


Starbound

by StarfighterStories



Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-21
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:06:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26760361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarfighterStories/pseuds/StarfighterStories
Summary: *Spoilers for KH3* After Sora disappears into thin air, his friends and allies from across all the worlds Sora dig through their memories in an effort to find out where Sora had disappeared to so they can finally bring him home once and for all.
Comments: 7
Kudos: 19





	1. Chapter 1

Suspicions

Mike Wazowski typed the recall number for Boo's door into the laugh floor operator's pad without even looking. He had done this so many times over the past few weeks that it had become second nature to him. As the door delivery system hummed and whirred above their heads, Mike turned to look at his friend Sully, who was tending to some last-minute paperwork at Mike's old desk.

It was all part of their routine, plausible deniability in case someone ever caught Mike recalling a door that was supposed to have been destroyed. At first, Sully was against the plan. having told Mike that if they were caught, he wanted them to face their punishment together, but Mike insisted on the contingency. Worried what would happen to Boo if they both suddenly disappeared.

Tonight, was different than normal though, tonight Sully wasn't even trying to look busy. He was just blankly staring at the sheets and reports that were supposed to be signed and submitted an hour from now.

Mike frowned and walked over to Sully, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, you feeling alright?"

Sully slowly looked up at him, as if he has just woken up from a dream.

"Yeah yeah I'm fine I was just…I was just thinking about Sora. When I did I got hit with this weird sinking feeling in my stomach, like like-"

The sensation that Sully was describing hit Mike like he had just been dropped into cold water.

"Like when you're going over the drop on a roller coaster."

Sully nodded quickly as Mike took a seat at the desk across from him.

"Yeah exactly like that!"

"Have you heard from Sora?" Mike asked, pulling up the position of Boo's door on the computer. He had made sure to keep the door as deep in storage as he could, even making sure to override the request for the shredding of multiple doors in the same sector of the storage area, as they kept Boo's door hidden from prying eyes.

"Nothing in the past few weeks. I hope he's doing alright." Sully sighed.

"Hey did you ever think that maybe-"

"They weren't actually exterminators?" Mike finished as he looked back at his friend.

"Yeah! I mean you remember when we got a bunch of psiworms in the apartment? The building manager had to call the exterminators and they looked nothing like Sora and his friends. They had no uniforms or anything." Sully exclaimed.

"I know I first had my suspicions after Sora scared Boo with his powers," Mike replied.

…

Donald yelped as he was thrown backward into a bank of capacitors, sparks flying as he crushed the electrical components within before crumpling to the floor, smoke rolling off his clothes.

"Donald!" Goofy shouted, running over to his fallen comrade.

"Donald get up!" Sora said, batting away an Unversed as more of them scuttled over the chain-link fence that surrounded them to get into battle.

Sully roared as he picked up one of the creatures and threw it into one of the ceiling lights, glass and sparks raining down on Sora as he fought his way toward Goofy and Donald.

"They've got us cornered!" Mike shouted he tried to keep the Unversed away from Boo.

"Mike, get Boo out of here!" Sully bellowed, crushing and Unversed with his fists

"What about you guys?" Mike asked as he picked her up.

"We'll hold 'em off as long as we can! Just keep Boo safe!" Sully told him as a cluster of unversed fell upon him from above. Sully roared and snarled, trying to throw them off but they quickly pulled him to the ground.

Sora's eyes went wide in alarm when he saw this before looking back at Goofy to see he was also becoming encircled by the Unversed. Sora leveled his keyblade at a smaller capacitor bank, shooting a fireball at its base, the metal hissed as Sora slashed at the capacitor, a gust of wind jumping from in between the teeth of the keyblade, knocking the capacitor on its side and giving Goofy some much-needed cover.

As Mike scooped up Boo rushed away from the battle, the chain-link fence that surrounded the generators and capacitors of the maintenance area started sparking as tendrils of electricity rushed and jumped across its length. Mike jumped back from the fence, looking for a way out some larger Unversed, mixed with a small group of Heartless entered the fray.

Sora scanned the area around him, struggling to decide who to help, unaware of the black tendrils that were sprouting up from the ground around his feet. As fear seized his heart like a vice, Goofy extended a hand to Sora in worry, trying to calm him but it was too late.

A pillar of black and purple flames swallowed up the young man and when he emerged, it was like his entire form was covered in thick black ink that flowed off his limbs and pooled around his feet. Sora's eyes now looked hollow, lit up only by a pair of faint sickly yellow-colored orbs.

Sora dashed forward, almost teleporting to the nearest Heartless and bisecting it in one slash before starting an attack on the largest one, hitting it up into the air by striking from below before shooting it with several balls of ice. The creature was frozen solid as it fell to the earth, shattering into a dozen large pieces. Sora jumped up and twisted his body to kick one of the shards into an unversed, who was struck and obliterated in an instant.

The last of the Unversed that remained tried to retreat as Sora lifted his keyblade into the air, and the ice shards melted into streams of water that Sora then sent after the remaining creatures, cutting them down as the ran away.

With the enemy decimated, Sora stood alone in the heart of the battlefield, whipping his head around to see if there were any left who would challenge him. As he looked around, his yellow eyes met Boo's and she whimpered and turned away from him while Mike tried to comfort her.

Sora's gaze remained fixated on her as the inky darkness rolled off his form, like the invincible faucet that was soaking him in shadow had finally been shut off. Sora dropped his keyblade as he returned to his old self almost falling over before Goofy and a revived Donald rushed over to steady him.

"Thanks, guys." Sora sighed.

"Are you alright? You haven't had an episode like that in a while." Donald asked.

Sora nodded slowly as Mike and Sully cautiously walked over to them.

"Sorry, you guys had to see that," Sora said as Sully picked up his keyblade and handed up to him.

"You don't have to apologize for anything, if you hadn't done that we might have been done for," Sully told him.

Sora looked up, seeing that Boo was still trying to avoid looking at him.

"Oh no, I think I scared her," Sora muttered.

"Don't feel too bad Sora. She's just a little kid, I don't think there's any way we can get her to understand what just happened." Goofy assured him.

"I know, but I still feel bad though," Sora replied, frowning as he crossed his arms before snapping his fingers.

"I got it." He said with a grin before walking over to Mike.

"Hey, Boo?" He said gently.

She slowly turned to look at him out of the corner of her eye.

"I'm sorry I scared you. Can I make it up to you?"

No response, she was still barely looking at him.

"Has Sully or Mike ever given you an airplane ride?" Sora asked, putting as much emphasis as he could on the last two words to make it sound like the most exciting thing in the world.

Boo was looking at him again and slowly she shook her head.

Sora let out an exaggerated gasp.

"They haven't? Can you believe that guys?" He continued, looking at Donald and Goofy who shook their heads before he looked back to Boo.

"Do you want me to give you an airplane ride?"

After hesitating for a minute, Boo slowly nodded.

Sora smiled and jumped up and down excitedly, twirling his keyblade as he asked Mike to set her down in the middle of the room.

"Ok Boo, put your arms out like this," Sora said, putting up his arms to imitate the form of an airplane. Boo quickly mirrored him and Sora gave her a thumbs up.

"That's perfect! Hold still for me ok?" Sora asked her as he pointed his keyblade at her feet and a small torrent of wind encircled her. Slowly and carefully, he raised Boo into the air.

The little girl started to giggle as he lifted her higher into the air before he slowly spun in place, gently moving Boo up and down as she flew around him.

Donald and Goofy looked at one another in relief when they saw Sora smiling as he played with Boo, the terror of their battles with the forces of darkness nothing but a rapidly fading memory.

Before the night was over, Sora made sure to promise Boo that he would come back to give her another airplane ride someday.

…

"So if they weren't exterminators, then who are they?" Mike wondered as the laugh floor's claxon sounded, signaling the arrival of a door.

Sully shrugged as he stood up walking over to Boo's door as it powered up.

"I guess we can always ask em when they get back." He told his friend as he opened Boo's door to find her sitting at the foot of her bed, scribbling in her sketchbook.

"Huh, she's already awake," Mike muttered, carefully stepping around the drawings that were scattered around on the floor around her bed.

"Hey Boo," Sully said with a smile as she stood up and raised her arms, asking to be picked up.

"You look tired." He told her as he pulled her into his embrace. "You ok?"

Boo shook her head before resting her head on his shoulder.

"Hey Mike, maybe we should help her get back to sleep and head home early tonight. She looks like she hasn't been sleeping well." Sully explained, turning to Mike who bent down to pick up one of Boo's drawings.

"Mike?" He asked, taking a few steps closer to his friend who was closely studying the drawing.

"What's wrong?"

"Look at this," Mike said, showing Sully the drawing, which showed a desert plateau filled with keys, driven into the earth.

"What do those look like to you?"

"They look like the different versions of that key that Sora had," Sully replied as Mike picked up another drawing.

"Look at this one."

The drawing showed a figured dressed in red and black with big spiky hair, fighting against a giant seething mass of yellowed eyed monsters, the ground around him filled with keys.

Sully found one that looked more recent showing what must have been Sora, Donald, and Goofy fighting against an armored figure with the head of some horned creature.

The pair exchanged a nervous look as they looked at the Boo's most recent drawing, the one she was working on before they came in, it showed Sora sitting on a palm tree with a girl but Sora's form seemed to be disintegrating, almost like he was made of sand that was being blown away by the wind.

Sully tapped on Sora's vanishing form with a claw.

"Wonder what this is about."

"Hey, Boo?" Mike asked, holding the drawing up to her and pointing to Sora.

"What's this?"

Boo got a sad look in her eyes as she waved at the drawing.

"Bye-bye."

"Bye-bye?" Mike asked looking at the drawing again, before looking up at Sully nervously.

The same sinking sensation that hit them earlier found its way back into their hearts but now it was worse. The sensation was punctuated by an inescapable dread.

"Something's wrong," Mike muttered, finding himself unable to put the drawing down.


	2. You Can't Fight Fate(?)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Sora's absence sends shockwaves across the stars, affecting all the hearts he's touched over the years, both friend and foe react to his disappearance.

Hercules and Phil walked through the streets of Thebes after a long day of training at the Olympus Colosseum.

Every muscle in Herc's body was sore and Phil was already giving him the full rundown of the all the drills they would be running tomorrow afternoon.

However, tonight was special. Tonight, Phil had agreed to let Herc out of training early so he could spend the evening with Meg.

They were supposed to go see a play at the city amphitheater before heading to the seaside for dinner. It was a night that the pair had been planning for weeks and now it was finally here.

Not even Phil's hardest drills and exercises could remove the smile from his face.

"Hey! Hey!" Phil exclaimed snapping his fingers, drawing him out of his daydream.

"Oh sorry Phill! I spaced out." Herc said with a sheepish smile, rubbing the back of his head nervously.

Phil sighed.

"Did you even hear what I said?"

"Well, I uh..."

"You said to make sure he brings his sword, shield, and spear into the armorer before drills start tomorrow so they can make repairs and you told him to make sure he eats a full meal before he heads to the coliseum." A feminine voice said.

Herc and Phil turned to see a slender woman in a lavender-colored dress staring at them, hands on her hips.

"Don't worry Phil. I'll make sure he doesn't forget." Meg told the satyr.

Herc smiled at her as he surged forward and pulled her into a giant hug, spinning around in place a few times for good measure.

Phil smiled at the pair, he knew that sometimes he was too hard on Herc but he had lost too many students in the past because he had been too soft on them.

He was going to make sure that he didn't make that mistake again.

Herc and Meg may resent him for it, but if he had to be the bad guy in this story, then so be it.

He turned to walk away when he saw some pedestrians pointing up at the sky. Phil raised an eyebrow as he looked up, at first not able to see what all the fuss was about at first.

Then as his eyes focused, he saw what they were seeing.

Sora's constellation was disintegrating, the stars that composed his image were going out like candles that were being individually being blown out one by one.

Phil suddenly felt a chill run up his spine and his legs suddenly gave out from underneath him.

"Oh, no...no..." He said as Herc and Meg rushed over to him, asking if he was ok.

Phil shook his head and pointed up at the stars, the shock of the event spreading up and down the busy street.

"I've seen this before kid...it can only mean one thing. Sora's gone." Phil told Herc, as Meg visibly shuttered.

"You ok?" Herc asked her, ignoring his own discomfort.

"I feel cold..." she told him before he put an arm around her.

The people of Thebes were now talking amongst themselves about the situation. They all knew Sora in some capacity, he had fought alongside Hercules to save the city from the Heartless.

Now they were all coming to Hercules for answers, quickly surrounding him and his friends as they tried to process everything that was going on.

"What's happened to Sora? Is he ok?"

"Where did he run off to anyway?"

"What's going on Hercules?"

Herc tried to fend off the anxious crowd as best as he could, telling them he hadn't Sora in a few weeks.

"I'm sure he's ok," Herc told them, hoping he didn't sound as uncertain as he felt.

He couldn't believe it.

It can't be true.

Sora was alive.

He had to be.

Hercules looked down the street, towards the city mausoleum before he broke into a sprint.

"Herc where are you going?!" Phil asked, getting up onto his hooves.

"To get some answers!

...

Hades had been watching Sora's disappearance on loop for the past several minutes in his head, chuckling to himself when he found a new detail with each repeat viewing.

It was a perfect way to unwind after a long day of tending to the needs of the dead, who had a habit of making nuisances of themselves but the sudden screams from Pain and Panic made the god groan.

"Speaking of nuisances..." he grumbled as the pair came tumbling down the stairs.

"What do you want two? Can't you seem in reveling in the demise of my enemy here!" Hades snapped at the pair as the turned into insects and scuttled across the floor.

"Hades!" A familiar voice bellowed.

"Wonderboy!" The god exclaimed, genuinely excited as Hercules walked down the stairs and into his study, flanked by Megara and Phill.

"Come come take a seat, I guess you've heard the news?" Hades said, making three chairs appear with the snap of his fingers.

"What did you do to him Hades?" Herc asked, shoving the chair aside and surging forward, grabbing Hades by the collar of his black robes.

"What did I do?" Hades asked rolling his eyes. "I didn't do anything, the twerp did it to himself"

"What do you mean?" Meg asked, taking a cautious step forward.

"The kid committed what's called a nature taboo. He crossed a line from which there's no going back. Not even you taking a swan dive into the River Styx could save him now. He's finished!" Hades exclaimed. "Although now he'll never get to pay me back for those souls he cheated me out of, so that's not exactly a plus."

"What are you talking about?" Herc asked.

"You don't remember?" Hades said, raising an eyebrow. "Your pals Phoebe and Illyrius?"

…

Sora, Donald, and Goofy stuck close to Herc as they clambered up the rocky hillside, scanning the surrounding area for any signs of trouble before pulling themselves onto a relatively flat outcropping of rock to rest.

"So, let me get this straight, a gorgon has been stealing food from this town and now the son of the captain of the guard has been missing for a week and the captain thinks the gorgon is responsible?" Sora wondered, putting his hands behind his head as he looked down at the town below.

Hercules looked over to Sora and nodded.

"That's right."

"And they only contacted you for help now?" Donald asked.

"Well they contacted me a few days ago, it did take some time to get out here," Herc replied. "Why, what are you guys thinking?"

"This just doesn't seem right," Donald replied, scratching his head.

"Maybe the townsfolk waited because they thought they could handle it themselves." Goofy wondered.

"Yeah, I guess that could be true," Sora muttered.

"I think Sora and I are just saying we might want to be extra careful," Donald said, still clearly pondering the series of events that proceeded their arrival.

"Exactly," Sora said, nodding enthusiastically.

"I'll be sure to keep an eye out for anything suspicious," Herc assured his friends before he walked over to the dirt path that led further up the mountain.

"Hey, guys! Check this out." He said, gesturing for them to come to him.

The trio still winded from the climb, walked over at a snail's pace.

"We must be close," Herc said as they arrived, pointing to tracks in the dirt that showed a large serpentine creature had passed through the area. "Come on, the gorgon's lair must be right ahead."

Hercules forged ahead while the trinity lagged behind, struggling to keep up their pace. If Sora hadn't been looking down at the ground, focusing on putting one foot in front of the other, he likely would have missed the human tracks that led up the trail, parallel to the gorgon's path.

"I wonder who these belong to," Sora mumbled before looking up to see that Herc was waiting for them at the mouth of a large cave.

When they finally caught up to him, Herc had his sword at the ready.

"The gorgon must be inside here, you guys ready for a fight?"

His friends nodded as they summoned their weapons before Sora took a step forward.

"Mind if I lead the way?"

Hercules shrugged.

"Sure, just remember, if you see the gorgon, don't look her in the eye."

"No problem." The keyblade wielder replied, the teeth of his weapon bursting into flame as he walked into the dark damp cave interior, holding his weapon up like a torch.

"Illyrius?" Hercules asked, peering into the dark as they crept forward.

"Who's there?" A voice asked from somewhere in front of them.

"My name is Hercules; my friends and I are here to rescue you."

A young man, just a few years older than Sora, emerged from the shadows. His toga was covered in dirt and his sea-green eyes were filled with worry.

"Did my father send you to find me?" He asked.

"That's right," Goofy said with a nod.

"Go back and tell him you couldn't find me," Illyrius told them.

"Wait what?!" Sora yelped.

"You had heard me, go back to my father and tell him you couldn't find me. I'm never coming home." Illyrius replied.

"Why not?" Hercules asked.

"I came to him for help, help with a friend, but when I told him what was going on he…" Illyrius took a shaky breath and pulled his curly black bangs away from his head revealing a nasty bruise.

Hercules and Sora exchanged a sad glance.

"I am so sorry…" Sora told him.

"Is your friend ok?" Donald asked.

Illyrius shook his head, tears forming in his eyes.

"She was hurt by my father's soldiers. If I can't get her the medicine she needs, I'm worried she might not make it."

"Can you take us to her? We might be able to help." Sora asked him.

After a brief moment of hesitation, Illyrius nodded and beckoned them to follow him deeper into the cave.

That's when they saw her, serpentine creature with the upper torso of a woman, laying up against the wall, facing away from them. As they got closer, they saw the gaping wound in her side, probably from a spear. Her breathing was rapid and shallow, and her tail flicked and twitched on occasion.

"What's her name?" Sora asked.

"Phoebe," Illyrius replied.

"Hey, Phoebe." The keyblade wielder said gently. "My name is Sora. My friend Donald and I are going to help you ok, just stay still ok?"

"Ok…" She replied quietly.

Sora extinguished his weapon and placed it over the wound, careful to put as little pressure on it as he could. Donald laid his staff over the keyblade, and soon a warm green glow filled the blackness of the cave and Phoebe breathed a sigh of relief.

"Did it work?" Sora asked as Donald put a hand on the wound, shutting his eyes.

"She'll be ok, but only if she gets a lot of rest and a decent meal. She is still very weak." He told him as he reignited his keyblade. "She can't stay cooped up in this cave forever."

"We could take her back into town, but I can't imagine that would go over well," Goofy said, thoughtfully scratching his chin.

"I don't want to go into town, I could hurt someone." Phoebe protested.

"There's also my father to worry about," Illyrius muttered.

"Hmmm…Phoebe you only turn people to stone when you look them in the eye right?" Sora asked, fishing through pockets as she got up, still facing the wall.

"That's right, why?" She asked as Sora took a pair of hot pink colored glasses with dark lenses and held them in the air triumphantly like they were Excalibur.

"I think these will help; they are called sunglasses! My friend Shiki gave them to me." Sora explained as he handed them to the gorgon, who managed to reach back and take the glasses without turning around.

"Pavo Real?" Phoebe said as she examined them. "I have never heard of this blacksmith."

"He's uh an up and coming blacksmith." Sora managed as he saw her struggle to put the glasses on, already feeling Donald gaze upon him. This was definitely going to result in another World Order lecture later.

"How do we know they'll work?" Illyrius wondered.

"We'll have to test them," Sora replied simply walking over to Phoebe.

"Go ahead and look me in the eyes."

"Really?" Phoebe asked.

"Really," Sora replied with a nod.

"Wait wait, Sora are you sure this will work?" Hercules asked.

"Nope! But it's the only way to know for sure." He replied.

Donald and Goofy shifted nervously in place while Illyrius and Hercules shared a nervous glance.

"Ok, here we go…" Phoebe said before pivoting to look at Sora, who barely flinched when he saw her face surrounded by a dozen black snakes, all hissing at him, their eyes glowing a deep orange color.

"O-oh oh no." Sora gasped, looking down at his legs and feet as they began to be swallowed up by a creeping grey growth.

"Sora!" Donald yelped.

Then with a snicker, Sora willed the ice around his lower torso to shatter.

"Gotcha."

Donald stomped his foot.

"Not funny!" He shouted as Sora chuckled.

"Sorry I couldn't resist." He said to his friend before looking to Phoebe, who was giggling while everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"See? I'm fine."

"Yeah, I guess these sunglasses were just what I needed."

Sora smiled at her before turning to look at the others.

"Now we're left with one problem. Illyrius' dad."

Herc turned to the boy and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Now look, we don't have to go back and see him if you don't want to. You can wait outside of town or we could even take you two somewhere else if you want."

Illyrius shook his head.

"I want to make sure Phoebe gets help as soon as possible. She's been through enough. I want to help any way I can."

"Are you sure?" Goofy asked, taking a step toward him.

"No one will think lesser of you if you don't want to face him Illyrius," Phoebe told her friend, slithering over and taking her friend's hand. "I can tough it out if I need to."

Illyrius shook his head again.

"You shouldn't have to." He told her before looking towards the light of the outside world.

"Let's go."

…

It didn't take long for the entire town to mobilize against Hercules and his companions. While in route to the home of the town doctor, they were cut off by a bearded man with a shaven head, clad in bronze armor, and flanked by men with large circular shields and spears. They were supported by a large mob of angry townsfolk that were spitting curses and throwing everything from vegetables to rocks at them.

"We're surrounded…" Donald muttered, summoning his staff which was already crackling with electricity.

"Illyrius." The bearded man growled, his voice easily audible over the mob's jeering.

"Father," Illyrius replied, his voice shaky.

Although Sora was angry at the man for abusing his son, he knew fighting in such a confined space was incredibly risky. For now, diplomacy was his best option.

"Hello Mr. Aegon, sir! As you can see we found your son, and I'm happy to say this whole thing has been just one big misunderstanding. You see it was your son who was stealing food for Phoebe here and-"

"I think you're the one who does not understand boy. When I said go kill the gorgon and save my son, I did not mean bring the monster back with my son!" The man bellowed as the crowd got even rowdier.

Sora shook his head in frustration but refuse to back down.

"Listen Phoebe has never hurt anyone. It's not her fault she turns people to stone by looking at them, she can't control it! If anything you should be proud of your son for-"

"You know boy, I was counting on Hercules to kill the beast himself and bring my son back to me, but I hadn't been counting on you coming along and trying to make sense of this. No matter, I hope this helps eases your troubled conscience."

Aegon threw a hefty looking leather pouch onto the street, as it struck the ground the bag opened, and dozens of gold drachmas spilled out.

"Now please, your services are no longer required. I need you all to walk away and let us handle this."

Sora shook his head in disgust.

"I don't want your money! I just want to get Phoebe and Illyrius somewhere safe. They're tired and hungry, they need help!"

"Stand aside boy! I won't ask again." Aegon said as his soldiers advanced, weapons drawn.

"No! I won't let you touch them. Donald!" Sora said, shooting his friend a glance.

The sorcerer ignited the top of his staff and drew a circle of fire around the pair, keeping them cut off from the Hoplites and the angry townspeople.

"If you want to get to them, you have to go through us!" Herc said, raising his fists.

"So be it. Attack!" Aegon said, signaling his first wave to attack.

Sora leveled his keyblade one of the hoplites and magnetized his armor before pivoting and doing the same to the soldier opposite of him. The two yelped as they were pulled together by an invisible force, their armor clattering as they smashed into one another.

"Herc, keep the crowd back. I'll deal with these guys!" Sora told his companion as one soldier dropped his spear and shield, drawing his short sword and leaping into the air to attack Sora from above.

The keyblade wielder flicked his keyblade at the man, a stream of water erupting from a nearby pot and wrapping around the man's torso like a whip before yanking him to the ground and knocking him out cold.

"Sora watch out!" Goofy said, jumping in front of his friend to block a spear that Aegon had thrown with his shield.

The weapon struck the metal with a massive thud and Goofy staggered backward from the impact but was otherwise unharmed.

Aegon charged forward, both hands wrapped around a spear. Sora pulled water from out of a nearby pot and willed into a circle to make a shield before freezing it just as the spear passed through, lodging the weapon in place.

"Back off!" Sora shouted, bringing his keyblade down on the spear's wooden shaft and breaking it into two before bringing his ice shield back and punching Aegon in the chest with the edge of it, knocking him onto his back.

"That's enough!" Sora said, pointing his weapon at the man's chest.

"What your son did was incredible! He saw someone in need, and he did everything he could to help her! Even though it put him in enormous danger, and he came back to face you after what you did to him." Sora told him, his anger quieting the crowd as Hercules walked over, pointing at Aegon as he sat up.

"Now you are going to let them pass and give them anything and everything they need to get out of this awful place, and after they leave, you are going to resign your post as captain of the guard."

"Who's gonna make me?!" The man snapped before thunder and lightning split the sky.

"Alright alright fine!" Aegon snapped as he got to his feet and turned to his soldiers.

"Stand down, let them pass." He growled before addressing the mob, who was dead quiet.

"The rest of you, disperse!"

As the townsfolk shuffled off, Donald was able to extinguish the circle of flame that surrounded Phoebe and Illyrius who slowly walk down the street towards their original destination with Sora and his companions in tow.

"Sora, what did today…that was really brave," Hercules said to his friend.

"I think Illyrius was the bravest one out of all of us today, to be honest." He replied, his keyblade disappearing in a flash of light.

"That's true but still, not anyone could face down a gorgon's gaze like that," Hercules replied.

"Eh, I wasn't worried," Sora said with a shrug.

"Really?"

Sora nodded quickly.

"Yup! I knew if something bad happened to me you guys would do everything you could to help How could I be worried?"

…

"People were supposed to die that day, but they didn't because you two clowns were there. The funny thing about fate though…" Hades said as he finished the story, vanishing from Herc's grasp and reappearing across the room, martini in hand.

"Is that what's meant to happen will happen. No matter how much you try to avoid it." He continued, showing Herc his friend disappearance as it happened in his mind's eye, reveling in the despair that was on his face.

"Sora learned that the hard way, to me the saddest thing is he won't be around to see that everything he's done will have all been for nothing. Oh well, good riddance I say, now I only have you to deal with you." The god said, gesturing to Herc with his drink as he surged forward only for Meg to stop him.

"Come on, he's not worth it. If he actually knew something, he would have tried to cut a deal with us by now. That just means he's filled with nothing but hot air." She told him as Hades rolled his eyes.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night babe." He scoffed as the three turned to leave, all of them shooting him one last scowl before the started climbing the stairs back to the land of the living.

As Hercules and his friends exited the underworld, Herc leaned up against the wall of the mausoleum before sliding down to the floor.

"I can't believe it…" He said, a tear rolling down his cheek as Meg and Phill put their arms around him. "He's really gone…"

"Do not despair Hercules…" A raspy set of voices said, making the three look back towards the entrance to the underworld.

Standing in the obsidian lined doorway were the three Fates, their empty eye sockets focused in on Hercules.

"You have broken our scissors once before. Do not believe that you are incapable of it again but be warned, the consequences may be dire. Consequences that even we cannot foresee." They said in unison before the Fate in the center of the group took out an eyeball and shoved it into her empty socket.

"Is there a way we can rescue Sora?" Herc asked and the Fates nodded.

"Seek Daedalus. He may be of use." They replied.

"Why are you helping us?" Meg asked. "Did Hades put you up to this?"

The Fates laughed at the notion before shaking their heads.

"Sora still has a role to play, even though we do not know what it is. It would be most beneficial for us all that he returns." They explained before vanishing in a puff of smoke.

Hercules looked to Meg, taking her hands in his.

"Meg I'm sorry but I have to go find him, I'll make it up to you I-"

She quickly shook her head and shushed him.

"Hey hey what makes you think I'm not coming with you?"

"Count me in too kid, I've lost enough students to last a lifetime. If Sora is out there, we'll find him." Phil added as Hercules got to his feet.

"So how do we find Daedalus?" Meg asked as they walked out of the mausoleum,

"I think I know a guy, he owes me a favor. We'll start with him." Phil replied as Hercules let out a sharp whistle.

Within minutes, Pegasus had swopped down to pick them up and the trio shot off into the night to parts unknown.


	3. Aftershocks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The search for Sora widens as the Big Hero Six learn of their friend's disappearance and are inspired to look at the problem from a new angle by a certain keyblade wielder.

After an exhausting night on patrol, the superhero team known as the Big Hero 6 was getting ready for their weekly team movie night in the upper levels of the Lucky Cat Café. As Honey Lemon distributed everyone's sushi rolls, Wasabi examined the DVD case that sat on top of Hiro's TV. The box art depicted a dragon setting a modern-day London ablaze, as a pair of attack helicopters moved to challenge the creature for control of the skies.

"Fred, what exactly did you pick for movie night again?"

"It's a movie that I watched with my Dad when I was a kid. It's about how a bunch of dragons, who have long laid dormant beneath the world's great cities rise up and start waging war on mankind."

Gogo looked up at him, raising an eyebrow.

"That sounds-"

"Awesome?!" Fred asked.

"Ridiculous." She corrected before snatching up a piece of calamari with her chopsticks.

"Oh it is, but that's why my dad and I love it," Fred admitted as he put the movie into the DVD player before he sat down on the couch.

"Hey Hiro, would it be ok if I invited Sora over? We haven't seen him in a while and I'm sure he needs a break from his hero responsibilities." Fred asked.

Hiro nodded quickly.

"Yeah go ahead, I'd love to see him!"

Fred looked around at the rest of his friends.

"Everyone ok if we hold off on starting the movie for a little bit?"

Everyone nodded in confirmation as they scarfed down their food, too hungry to even think about giving a verbal reply.

"Cool, let me shoot em a text," Fred said, tapping away at his cracked cell phone screen. After he sent the message he got an immediate response.

"That was fast." Honey Lemon said after taking a sip of her drink.

"Error. Recipient not found?" Fred said, looking quizzically at his phone.

"Weird, try it again." Wasabi suggested.

Fred retyped his message and sent it, muttering to himself as he did so.

His phone buzzed at him seconds after he hit send.

"Error. Recipient not found." He grumbled.

"Let me try, maybe you saved the wrong number." Wasabi offered before his phone chirped at him.

"Wait what the…recipient not found? Seriously?"

"Gogo, can you tell me what you have Sora's number as?"

"Yeah sure." She replied, setting her takeout box down and pulling out her phone before reading off what she had in her contact list.

"Yeah, that's what I have!" Fred protested.

"Same here," Wasabi added.

Honey Lemon had already pulled out her phone.

"Let me call him, maybe it's just something with our messenger apps." She told them.

All she heard was a series of beeps before a recorded message played.

"We're sorry; you have reached a number that has been disconnected or is no longer in service. If you feel you have reached this recording in error, please check the number and try your call again."

"I can't get through." She told her friends, as they all started trying to call Sora as they speculated on what could be going on.

"I hope he's ok," Fred grumbled as Baymax detached from his charging dock and waddled over.

"Hiro, your heartbeat is rising rapidly and blood pressure has spiked. I believe an anxiety attack is imminent."

Gogo swooped in as Baymax finished his assessment with her water bottle in hand, careful not to crowd him.

"You want your meds?" She asked.

Hiro quickly nodded and Fred was quick to stick his arm and Hiro's backpack and toss it to Gogo who quickly opened up the bottle and gave Hiro a pair of pills, which he was quick to consume before Gogo handed him her water bottle.

"Concentrate on your breathing." She said, firmly but lovingly.

Hiro nodded wordlessly.

"Where are you?" She asked him.

"It's the night that Tadashi-"

He took a long shaky breath, tears welling up in his eyes.

"You can get through this," Gogo told him as everyone looked on nervously.

"I'm sure Sora is ok. He might have had to change his number is all."

Hiro nodded slowly a smile appearing on his face.

"That happened with Aunt Cass a few weeks ago. Took her a week to tell me she changed her number."

"I remember you were telling me about that on Thursday when we went to the movies," Gogo said with a smirk before everyone turned to look at the stairs as the sound of someone knocking at the front door reverberated through the café.

"Who could that be?" Honey Lemon asked, shifting nervously.

"I wonder if Aunt Cass remembered to flip the sign to closed before she left," Hiro told them as he got up.

"I'll go check."

"I will accompany you," Baymax said, falling in behind his friend as he jogged down the stairs. As he vanished from sight, Gogo shoved her hands in her sweater pocket, a sense of dread creeping into her chest.

"Hey anyone feel a draft in here?" Fred wondered, looking around in confusion.

…

When Hiro got down to the main floor of the café, they saw a girl with shoulder-length red hair, wearing a pink sweater and black pants staring into the dark interior of the café like she was looking for someone.

Hiro walked over to the front door and cracked it open.

"Hey sorry, we're closed right now but we open at 8 AM tomorrow."

"Oh sorry to bother you, I was just looking for someone. Do you know Hiro Hamada by chance?" The red-haired girl asked.

Hiro looked back at Baymax then back at the girl.

"Uh… actually I'm Hiro…Do I know you?"

The girl quickly shook her head.

"No we've never met but we do have something in common. We're both friends of Sora. My name is Kairi."

Hiro's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"Oh ok! Hey, have you seen him lately? We were actually trying to call him earlier but we couldn't get through. Is he ok?"

Kairi violet eyes fell, suddenly fascinated with the ground.

"That's actually why I'm here…can I come in?"

Hiro felt a sense of dread overcome him, but he invited the girl in and led her upstairs.

"Oh, who's this Hiro?" Honey Lemon asked as they summited the stairs and came into view.

"Guys, this Kairi. She's one of Sora's friends." Hiro began as Kairi waved at them as enthusiastically as she could, but there was still a sad look in her eyes.

"She has something to tell us about Sora."

Kairi was picking at a strand of fabric poking out from her hoodie's sleeve, studying it intensely before she looked up at The Six, even as her fingers still picked at the strand.

"There's no easy way to say this but…Sora is gone."

She spat out the last word like she was eager to get it off her tongue, and the entire room seemed to get colder and darker once the word escaped her lips.

"What do you mean gone?" Gogo asked.

Kairi shook her head.

"It's hard to explain, but he's disappeared and we're worried that-" Kairi shut her to try and seal away the tears, but they were already streaking down her face.

"-we're worried he might not ever come back."

Fred, who had been pacing around the room, dropped his phone and fell back onto the couch. Shock etched into his face as he struggled to process the news.

Gogo's normally stoic façade fractured as she plopped down onto her knees, staring at Kairi like how she stared at Hiro when he stood over Tadashi's grave, crying his eyes out, as his brother's casket was lowered into the ground.

Honey Lemon, took off her glasses and pinched the bridge of her nose as her gaze fell toward the floor, trying to suppress her urge to cry.

Wasabi leaned forward and his face with his hands, resting his elbows on his knees as Hiro took a step towards Kairi.

"Wait wait you said that Sora disappeared. Where did you see him last?"

"We, we were at the beach together." She replied. "All of us were at the beach together. He told me that he was happy he finally got to spend some time with me but then he said that he wished we had more time. Then he just…vanished." She managed before he face fell, and she clenched her fists, time seemed to stand still before she composed herself and looked up at The Six, her eyes puffy and red as she wiped away her tears.

"I'm sorry about that, I came here to ask you something important and my emotions got the better of me." She told the group, frustration overcoming the despair in her voice.

It's ok." Baymax told her gently. "Your feelings are meant to be felt. I'm sure this has been a difficult time for you."

"How can we help Kairi?" Honey Lemon asked, taking a step closer to her and Baymax.

"Well…" She began, reaching up to her shoulder and holding her hand up like a platform. Something jumped into her open palm before she extended her hand to The Six, who all got up and walked up to her to see that she was holding a small cricket in her hand. The cricket was dressed in fine clothes and even had a top hat sitting on its head.

"Hello there." He said politely.

"He can talk…" Gogo said, stunned.

Kairi smirked at her amazement before she continued.

"My friend Jiminy used to travel with Sora and recorded everything that happened in his journal. The two of us have been going back through his journal entries and that's how I found out about you guys. Jiminy's journal said that you have access to a machine that can open portals to other worlds. I need to use that machine to look forward to Sora."

"Whoa whoa hold on back up, you said Sora disappeared when you two were at the beach. Maybe we should start by looking there instead of trying to dig up wormhole tech." Wasabi told her as Kairi put Jiminy back on her shoulder.

"Exactly. No one just vanishes without a trace like that. There have to be clues that were left behind." Hiro muttered, the wheels in his head already turning.

"That won't be possible." She replied flatly, almost as if she had been expecting that suggestion.

"Why not, I mean if you found us you can't live too far away. Do you remember what beach you two were at?"

"It's a place called Destiny Island but you won't be able to find it…"

"I just googled Destiny Island and it's not pulling anything up," Fred announced.

"Weird, are you sure that's what it's called?" Honey Lemon asked.

"I'm sure," Kairi said before she looked at Jiminy almost apologetically before taking a deep breath.

"Look the reason you can't find Destiny Island on your maps because it doesn't exist in your world. It's on another one. The world that I'm from. The world where Sora and I grew up together." She told them, already seeing doubt forming in their eyes.

She summoned her keyblade and pointed it at the window that overlooked San Franksokyo, a beam of light shot into the window panes. A bright light, like the rising sun, filled the room before fading to give The Six a look of a very different version of their city as a figure in a red and gold suit zipped past the window, followed closely behind by some kind of VTOL aircraft that looked like something out a comic book.

"That is another version of this city on another world, it's called San Fransico," Kairi told them as the image vanished like a mirage. "There are hundreds more like them, and that's the problem.

"Keybalde wielders, like me and Sora, can travel between worlds through a variety of different means but anyone of them takes a lot of time and a lot of energy. At the rate we're going, we'll never be able to find Sora. That's why I wanted to ask if I could use that machine. If I can travel from world to world using it, I might just be able to find Sora and bring him home."

Everyone was nodding in understanding except for Gogo, who was frowning.

"One little detail your friend might have forgotten was that the machine that creates portals, the gateway, wasn't ours. It belonged to an R&D lab outside the city. It's been sitting in a junkyard for close to a year now in dozens of pieces." She explained.

"Maybe we can rebuild it…" Hiro said to himself before walking into his room.

"Be right back." He said to his friends, who were shocked by the statement.

"Hiro, I know you want help but I don't know if that's possible," Gogo told him, walking over and standing in the doorway of his room as he grabbed his laptop.

"The first issue we have to overcome is actually building the thing. In case you don't remember, it exploded after the magnetic containment field was breached. We'd probably have to start from scratch and that means getting access to high-grade materials and electrical components. Stuff that we can't afford." She told him as he exited his room and rejoined the group.

"There's also the power issue. Crei Tech had to build an entire underground facility across the bay powered by its own separate and independent electrical grid just to turn the gateway on and even then, they couldn't keep the magnetic containment field active long enough for their test pilot to return safely." Wasabi added.

"Not to be a downer but there's something else. The gateway isn't just a door we can open to go anywhere. We have to have another gateway on the other end so that whoever or whatever enters the portal can get out again." Fred said sheepishly.

"Well, it sounds like we have three problems to solve. Materials, power, and implementation. All problems that we have had to solve in our respective fields whenever we step into our labs. We can do this. I know we can." Hiro said firmly.

Everyone nodded firmly, and the mood of the entire room seemed to shift. From resigned despair to cautious optimism.

"Let's call in a few favors and get the blueprints of the gateway. We cant start thinking of materials until we know the thing inside and out." Honey Lemon said before Gogo spoke up.

"I can work on the power issue with Wasabi. We need to find out where Crei Tech went wrong so don't make the same mistake they did."

Hiro turned to Kairi, a smile on his face, the room was already abuzz with activity as everyone set about trying to complete their tasks.

"Me and you are going to figure out if we can use your powers in place of another gateway. If you can open doors to other worlds but you can only open them one at a time, then maybe all we need to do is put you in the middle of a hallway with a bunch of doors and have you check each one. Metaphorically speaking anyway."

"I'll help in any way I can," Kairi replied.

"Hey, guys what can I do?" Fred asked before a low but loud warbling sound made everyone stop in their tracks.

"Was that Mochi?" Gogo asked.

Kairi, her cheeks flushed with color, raised her hand.

"It was me, sorry I haven't eaten dinner yet."

"My scans show Kairi has not eaten in almost twelve hours. Caloric intake is recommended." Baymax chimed.

"Fred, can you make another sushi run for Kairi?" Hiro asked.

"Sure can! Any requests Kairi?"

"Uh…not a request really, just more of a question. What is sushi exactly?"

"Y-you don't know what sushi is?" Wasabi asked.

Kairi shook her head.

"Nope."

"You poor poor child," Fred muttered,

"Fred, I would just get her the works. Maybe like 4 of the signature rolls, a mix of spicy and not spicy to be safe." Honey Lemon suggested.

"Can you just get me another King Crab Roll too?" Hiro added.

"You got it!" Fred said before bounding the stairs as Hiro reached over pulled his take-out box off the nearby coffee table and handed it to Kairi.

"Here, to hold you over till Fred gets back." He told her as she picked up the chopsticks and carefully picked up the delicately prepared roll and placing it in her mouth. She hummed happily and chewed it up in seconds.

"So good!" She exclaimed.

"That's sushi," Hiro said with a smile as she devoured the second piece of the roll.

"Thank you, Hiro, for everything," Kairi said as she set the take out box to the side.

"We'll find him, I promise," Hiro told her as she looked around at all the people who were dead set on finding their friend. Sora had always amazed her with his ability to bring people together and now for the first time in a long while, she dared to start hoping again.


End file.
